How can I dress my 6th grade boy more fashionably? archived

Just get him a pair of jordans and some joggers.

I would get a bunch of jeans and khaki-colored jeans from Old Navy.

Very trendy right now: preppy sweaters with elbow patches.

The softer, athletic/sweat pants can look young on some kids (including mine). Converse shoes are good.

If you are willing to spend Vineyard/J Crew cash, maybe a pullover or two of some sort. That's not where I would put money for jeans.

I say let him be if he's happy with his look...follow his lead.
There will come a time very soon when he will care greatly, most likely.;-)

Great thanks.
Yes I am not too confident I am going to want to spend much at VV.
My daughter just showed me what joggers are. LOL. I thought they were sneakers.

Middle school boys only seem to care about sneakers . Preppie is not big at middle school as far as I know.

Less expensive joggers can be gotten at Zoomies. They frequently have good sales. Not great quality on shirts/sweatshirts, IMO but fine for jeans/pants/shoes

My boy doesn't care hardly at all about what he wears. I fear that if I get him some new things I will have to go up and show him how to put the outfits together every morning.

I'm thinking about maybe a cool flannel shirt to layer with a tshirt.

Well, again, I vote for fostering independence.
But a friend's daughter helped another friend's younger daughter shop for some clothes and then out outfits together and snapped pictures for reference. Those were hung up in the closet...

Hollister is good for plaid shirts etc

Good Idea Doulamomma! This is turning into a fun family event for us with my daughter leading the charge.

American Eagle is good too. I think Livingston is better than Short Hills for boy clothes. Plus they have footlocker and DTLR.

If he's happy in pullovers and sweatpants, maybe try to steer him towards 'cooler' versions of that type of sporty look. What about the nice tapered leg track pants? My 7th grader nephew wears those pretty much every day.

I don't see a kid who wears sweats siddenly becoming comfortable in vineyard vines.

doulamomma said:

I say let him be if he's happy with his look...follow his lead.
There will come a time very soon when he will care greatly, most likely.;-)

Here too. My son wears the same thing every day. A tee shirt no one sees, one of two hoodies over it, and a pair of jeans. Thats it.

I agree Lynnb.
bobross- I will try to steer away from the Short Hills mall but that might be hard with my daughter leading the charge.

Yeah, it will be hard.
-McGoey's daughter

But I'll see if I can drag my mom (McGoey) to the Livingston mall as well. Both malls have their beauties :-D
-McGoey's daughter (again)

Why does he have to change how he dresses? He is obviously comfortable. Wait until he requests more stylish clothes. He shouldn't have to conform to a sibling's desire for him to look more fashionable. He is a 6th grade boy..he'll probably just continue to wear the clothes he is currently comfortable wearing.

LOL Here's to the sister/fashion advisor! We have one of those too. I have an 8th grade boy and so just a couple of words of advice:

1. Don't spend a lot--he will outgrow everything in just a few months. Like, three months. Maybe.
2. My son didn't care at all in 6th grade; suddenly in 8th grade he wanted khaki pants for every day (no more sweat pants except for gym) and those thermal/waffle weave tops (instead of snarky t-shirts). For special occasions he goes full-on suit now, including a couple of spiffy new ties. I attribute this to his watching a How I met Your Mother marathon with his sister and discovering a whole new role model in Barney Stinson.

PS @Pickwick -- if he's having fun and likes the attention, why not? If he's uncomfortable, my guess is, he'll say so.

My apologies... I'm having one of those "kids grow up too fast" days. It is lovely that his sister wants to do something with him like this..just be sure he is really comfortable with the choices. Good luck! And McGooey daughter, you are great big sister to want to share something you care about with your younger brother.

Pickwick - I think he is game to be the Ken doll for his older sister and I agree, Deborahg, he will tell me if he doesn't like something.
Hopefully I can get in an out of the mall tomorrow unscathed and without spending an arm and a leg. (Though the sneakers look pretty pricey)

If he likes j Crew- try the outlets? J crew and eddie bauer at exit 102 off the parkway. . .Also Century 21 in Morristown. Also as stated above. He will grow, My guy grew and grew and grew until now in 10th grade, he is a men's large slim, still looks like a piece of paper, he is so skinny but 6'1". So we always got one or two outfits in real money and then filled it out with discount/sale items. So after he grows, then spend the money. Even on shoes, since he outgrew shoes on average every three months between 7-9th grade. My guy loved when his older sister told him what to wear.

My 7th grade son wears long sleeve Ts or regular T's every day. They are either Snoopy, Dr. Who, or Pug themed. Comfy elastic waist pants and black sneakers. He won't go near designer anything, or jeans.
I think he combed his hair once this year and that was to get hairspray he used for Halloween out.

Thank god he's polite and has a great sense of humor.

I recommend H&M in Livingston Mall. I hit it regularly when I am just done looking at my 8yo son in sweats! Cheap, and hip. Its fashion thats not meant to last, hence the price. My younger son likes to dress for occasions, and I have found smart but cool shirts and pants, with a funky tie/bowtie. This christmas he sported black and gold basketball shoes from H&M. He looked great!

Pants were an issue for ctrzson, as he is thin and lanky and grew out of them quickly--usually Boden and Polo for jeans and cords. J Crew worked too as they were a slimmer cut, but he's sized out. Now long sleeve RL three-button polos and VV/RL oxfords along with chinos, cords and jeans. And a leather needlepoint or silk belt. Yes, preppy, but he's proud to stand out a little. And he's been steered by his hugely-prep-starting-in-middle-school dad, so there's that. :-D

If thin and growing fast, I've had good luck with the men's Gap super sale rack - like 27 or 28 or 29" waist cords and khakis. And Calvin Klein pants can be cut slim too...

Jebus. I feel like a good mom if I manage to yell out "FLY CHECK!" before my 6th grade boy leaves every day.

I'm not sure why holister never really stuck with my kids..I thought the clothes from there to be excellent quality at good prices...considering. Thick sweat pants and jackets, nice shorts, I personally loved the feel of the fabrics, etc. Then before you know it, they wanted everything from vv and I have to turn my head at the price tags and hope they appreciate a $100 shep shirt.

OMG Amie - I say that every morning to my 8th grade boy (and have been saying every morning since middle school started) - I still catch him with his fly open sometimes! How do they not know?

As for clothes - go to the consignment store, or thrift store for teen clothes. Especially those middle years, when they try on those 26w/28L pants and they fit, then the following week, they are too small! Splurge on shoes, since uncomfortable ones suck, but buy cheap clothes for teens - at least until they level off and plateau on the growth for a bit (or you think they've finished). You can get VV on ebay.